IE6 users thrown out of WordPress

Blogging platform no longer supports older browsers

In an update to its blogging software, WordPress has discontinued support for older web browsers. The move in particular targets Internet Explorer 6 - the 10-year-old web browser long superceded, but still used in lots of corporate environments. IE6 users will now not be able to log in to WordPress. Instead they'll be encouraged to upgrade to a more recent version of Microsoft's web browser. A similar exortation to upgrade will appear to users of other, older web browsers when they try to log in.

Explaining the change on the WordPress blog, WordPress head of user experience Jane Wells said: "It has required increasingly complex code trickery to make the WordPress dashboard work in the IE6 browser, which was introduced ten years ago and does not support current web standards.

"While we were at it, we started looking at other older browsers, and it makes us cringe a little when we see people using them, because the web could be so much better for them (not to mention more secure) if they would update to their favorite browser’s current version," wrote Wells.

"Starting with this update, if you log in to your WordPress site using an outdated browser, an orange alert will appear on your Dashboard screen letting you know, and will provide links to the browser updates and to Browse Happy, where you can learn a little more about your options."